The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Conventionally, reclining articles of furniture (i.e., chairs, sofas, loveseats, and the like) require a mechanism to bias a leg rest assembly in the extended and stowed positions. Most reclining rocking chairs include an upholstered chair frame supported from a stationary base assembly in a manner permitting the chair frame to “rock” freely with respect to the base assembly. In order to provide enhanced comfort and convenience, many rocking chairs also include a “reclinable” seat assembly and/or an “extensible” leg rest assembly. For example, combination platform rocking/reclining chairs, as disclosed in Applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,096,121 and 4,179,157, permit reclining movement of the seat assembly and actuation of the leg rest assembly independently of the conventional “rocking” action. The leg rest assembly is operably coupled to a drive mechanism to permit the seat occupant to selectively move the leg rest assembly between its normally retracted (i.e., stowed or retracted) and elevated (i.e., extended or protracted) positions.
When a rotating motion is also desired, common furniture member mechanisms add a swivel member having opposed metal plates with metal ball bearings disposed between the plates. A first one of the plates is connected to the mechanism and the second plate is connected to an upper member of a leg or support frame of the furniture member. A plurality of ball bearings is commonly located in a continuous circular slot or groove created in one or both of the plates. Disadvantages of known swivel members include the cost and weight of the swivel member, and a limited diameter of approximately 8 to 10 inches (20.3 to 25.4 cm) to allow the swivel member to fit in the space envelope of the frame and mechanism. The moment arm created when an occupant extends the leg rest assembly or rotates a seat back member can over-stress the swivel member. Swivel members are therefore not known in “wall proximity” furniture members due to the additional moment arm created by translation of the mechanism, which can overstress the swivel member. In addition, it is difficult and expensive to back-fit known swivel members into an existing furniture member because the furniture member support frame and often multiple parts of the mechanism must be removed to insert the swivel member.